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01-18-2017, 10:02 AM - 1 Like   #1
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77mm limited...should i?

okay, i'll make this real simple and quick. the lenses i got right now:
rokinon 14mm 2.8
pentax 24-70mm 2.8
pentax fa 50mm 1.4
rokinon 85mm 1.4
pentax 100mm wr 2.8
tamron 70-200 2.8
pentax 18-135mm (mostly sits there. i only use it for travel....otherwise i have no use for it)

bodies i have:
pentax k1
pentax k5
pentax kx

things i shoot: portraits, candid, landscape, random variety and versatility of any/everything.
lenses i favour: 70-200 on the 200mm range, 24-70 on the 70mm range. when i'm in studio, then 85mm range due to manual focus. cant rely on it when i'm outside. controlled settings, it works just fine.

the 100mm is a superb lens too.

up until now, i never really thought much of the 77mm as i already have that range covered in the 70-200, and even then, i hardly am close to the 70mm range. however, recently, someone is selling their 77mm for about 650 canadian. that is CANADIAN!!!! i know that is a damn good price for that lens.

but the practical side of me is questioning if i even need it. do i need it? should i need it?
yes, its a pretty lens.
yes, its designed for portraits
yes, it has great color rendering (apparently).
no, its not the sharpest lens
yes, its great at low light settings
yes, it loves the k1
yes, i can sell it for far more if i dont like it
yes, its already covered in my other lenses, so it is a repeated lens
no, its not the fastest focusing lens
yes, it is a noisy lens to autofocus


will i notice a big difference between this and the tamron 70-200, or the rokinon 85mm in terms of the image quality?

so....should i? do i 'need' this lens?


Last edited by hadi; 01-18-2017 at 10:14 AM.
01-18-2017, 10:09 AM   #2
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You know you want it!
01-18-2017, 10:22 AM   #3
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I'd sell Rokinon 85 and Pentax 18-135 or FA 50mm and get the 77mm.
01-18-2017, 10:49 AM - 1 Like   #4
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I'll play!

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
recently, someone is selling their 77mm for about 650 canadian. that is CANADIAN!!!! i know that is a damn good price for that lens.
Great price. I got mine for 500 CAD, so there...

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, its a pretty lens.
More than pretty, especially the silver version (I got black)

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, its designed for portraits
Yes, on full framee.I don't like the FOV on APS-C.

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, it has great color rendering (apparently).
It is very similar to your 100 macro WR. I have both also, and fnid the rendering to be extremely close. The 77 delivers a slightly more dreamy mood because it's not quite as sharp in the corners but really, they are close.

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
no, its not the sharpest lens
I don't agree with what you mean. It's extremely sharp in the center, but it's not designed as a uniformly sharp lens across the range. But look at this picture, shot at F3.2

Pour partage - bernard-dery

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, its great at low light settings
Wonderful, you mean

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, it loves the k1
That it does.

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, i can sell it for far more if i dont like it
True, but you won't sell it. I thought I'd make some profit by swapping, but it stays...

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, its already covered in my other lenses, so it is a repeated lens
You'll sell your 85 and use the 77 when you want to compose a beautiful portrait.

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
no, its not the fastest focusing lens
Faster than the 100 macro WR, comparable to the FA50, slower than the 24-70 and 70-200.

QuoteOriginally posted by hadi Quote
yes, it is a noisy lens to autofocus
Not that much, honestly.

I compared the 77 to both the 24-70 and 70-200. In the center it's just as good, in the corners better than the 24-70 and worse than the 70-200, but it has some character that neither can match. The 70-200 probably comes closest but it's not quite there.

01-18-2017, 11:06 AM   #5
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This is THE lens you should have. You'll see why when you get it
01-18-2017, 11:18 AM   #6
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This thread is very reassuring, I've recently ordered the FA 77.

Can't advise you Hadi, because it hasn't arrived yet, but I can say I didn't choose it out of need, or for that matter because it is the sharpest across the frame or fastest portrait lens. For me, it's an object of photographic desire that will take lovely photos of my loved ones. That was enough.
01-18-2017, 11:21 AM   #7
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The 77 is a good portrait lens but has a lot of overlap with your other lenses. The only reason I see to add it is of you need thin DoF, autofocus, and small size at the same time.

01-18-2017, 11:53 AM   #8
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.....errr Yes
01-18-2017, 12:13 PM   #9
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01-18-2017, 12:35 PM   #10
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This is a straight yes or yes question. I do not have the 77 ltd but have the DA 70 and I use it much more often than my 70-200 which I do not always have with me.
01-18-2017, 01:16 PM   #11
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The 77 is a special lens. It renders skin tones in a way few others do, is sharp enough but not 'pores like the surface of the moon' sharp and on K-1 is an admirable stand-in for an 85. You can't go wrong and you won't feel you're double covering the short end of the 70-200.

That doesn't mean you should - it's just observations.

Last edited by monochrome; 01-18-2017 at 02:40 PM.
01-18-2017, 01:22 PM   #12
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I don't have any of the lenses that you list but I find the 77 most interesting because of how it renders (skin, hair, bokeh) unique when I compared it to the lenses I had DA70, DA50-135, Sigma 70. And a silver copy looks damn sexy on the K1.
01-18-2017, 01:23 PM   #13
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The answer is yes.

It works fine on APS-C and 24x36mm.

Here are examples:

Portrait on K-3

Landscape on K-3

Object on K-3

Landscape on K-1

I do not have any portraits on K-1 that I can share unfortunately.
01-18-2017, 01:28 PM   #14
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If I had had any idea that the K-1 was going to be both so outstanding and so (relatively) affordable, I would have got just the FA77 instead of the DA15, 21 and 70. All those three are good lenses, but they are not full frame compatible (except maybe the DA70 if you don't look closely in the corners at some apertures). However, that information wasn't available to me when I bought those lenses, and I anticipated a significantly more expensive machine which would not knock my socks off and do everything the K-5 does and better - even in crop mode.

It's not too much of a sin to want a really good autofocus lens (which the Rokinon for all its high points is not) with full aperture control and all the bells and whistles, which is designed for the platform you're using. And if you ever want to dabble in film (specifically the early days of K mount), or with things like extension tubes or K-mount macro bellows that don't transmit aperture data or control, the FA77's aperture ring will let you go there.
01-18-2017, 01:46 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by DeadJohn Quote
The 77 is a good portrait lens but has a lot of overlap with your other lenses. The only reason I see to add it is of you need thin DoF, autofocus, and small size at the same time.
This.
I love mine, especially for portraits. But you could certainly get by without it having the lenses you do.
I like it much better that my Tamron 28-75/2.8 at 75/2.8 and that Tamron is a fine lens. The 77 just has a certain rendering that I really like.
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